Two dead, four wounded at Oakland restaurant

By Harry Harris, Angela Woodall and Cecily BurtOakland Tribune

Posted:
04/25/2011 06:31:29 AM PDT

Updated:
04/25/2011 06:34:21 PM PDT

OAKLAND -- The scene of a deadly rampage early Monday morning in a bar near Jack London Square was quiet by late afternoon, hours after a man armed with an assault rifle, perhaps hoping to rob people attending a Lil Wayne concert after-party at a club around the corner, opened fire inside the business, instantly killing two people and wounding four others.

A padlock on the entrance and faded evidence markings on the sidewalk outside the newly opened Sweet Jimmie's bar and restaurant on Broadway near Third Street were among the few signs of the violence. The incident erupted about 12:45 a.m. Monday as about a dozen family members and friends of the bar's owner were inside playing video games, said David Ward, the operator of Sweet Jimmie's.

Ward said that a group of men first tried to rob two men walking on Broadway before signaling to another robber in a nearby car. That man had an assault rifle and began firing. The two men who were being robbed ran inside Sweet Jimmie's, followed by the gunman.

Six people were shot, two fatally, and another was wounded by shrapnel. One of the dead was a 22-year old man who had been walking past the bar. The other was 27-year-old Billy Jenkins, an Oakland resident who had been inside playing games when the gunman entered and started firing, Ward said. The first victim's name was not released pending notification of relatives. Another 27-year-old man was in grave condition Monday evening. The other victims range in age from 27 to 45 and are from other Bay Area cities. They are expected to recover.

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Ward was subdued Monday as he spoke about the shooting. He said the establishment will stay closed until he's sure his family is OK.

Sweet Jimmie's is located in usually a safe area, where Sunday nights are typically slow, Ward said. The establishment's doors were open, Ward said, when he heard the shots and started walking toward the door -- that's when the gunman came in firing. Someone pushed him out of the way and he landed on the floor with four others trying to escape the bullets.

"I'm just glad it wasn't me," he said. "If that person hadn't pushed me out of the way, I'd be dead. There's probably an angel looking after me."

Oakland police Sgt. Tony Jones said the gunman "appeared to be firing indiscriminately," and police are trying to determine why.

Lil Wayne played a concert at the Oracle Arena earlier that evening. His record label held an after-party at Kimball's Carnival nightclub, around the corner from Sweet Jimmie's. Oakland police assigned extra security there because of the party and were the first to respond to the shooting at Sweet Jimmie's.

The gunman escaped in a car with at least three other men before police arrived. They drove southbound on Broadway in a newer-model white Dodge Avenger with stock rims.

Broadway between Third and Fourth streets was shut down for several hours to allow police and crime scene technicians to investigate.

While police were investigating the attack, a man who had just left Kimball's was shot in the leg. That shooting happened just after 2 a.m. in the 200 block of Clay Street. Police don't know the motive for that shooting and don't believe it was linked to the Broadway incident.

The two killings brought to 37 the number of homicide victims in the city this year. Last year at this time there had been 30 homicides.

Ward said he took over the bar and restaurant on Broadway about two months ago, but the new awning with the Sweet Jimmie's sign went up just last week. He said he rents the space but plans to buy it soon.

His father, Jimmie Ward, owned the popular Sweet Jimmie's nightclub and restaurant on San Pablo Avenue for many years. It closed in 2006, and the elder Ward died last year.

ABC has no record of any enforcement actions against the new business or of the name being changed in February.

An employee at a Nation's Giant Hamburgers next to Sweet Jimmie's said that with the exception of some panhandlers there has been "no violence like this" on the block.

Nation's usually closes at 1:15 a.m. but it closed immediately after the shooting, and police made employees wait inside for several hours before leaving.

There has been violence in and around Jack London Square in recent years.

In September, four men were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside the Home of Chicken N Waffles in the 400 block of Embarcadero West. They were among a group of people waiting to get into the restaurant about 2:40 a.m. None of the men was badly wounded, and no suspects have been arrested.

In November 2006, Mingles Nightclub in the 200 block of Embarcadero West closed after a pregnant woman was fatally shot outside the establishment. There had been several violent incidents near the club before that, including another killing in April 2006, and it was in danger of having its license suspended by the city. The site since has been demolished.